In the northern hemisphere, it's that time of year. It's time for snowmen, snowball fights, and the detestable chore of shoveling snow. Snow, however, can be used to make a delightful winter treat: ice cream.

If you want to make snow ice cream, using freshly fallen snow is best in this endeavor. Setting out bowls to catch fresh white powder is the best way to accomplish this chore. However, if you are concerned about cleanliness and hygiene, you can also use shaved ice. Avoid packed, hard snow, as it will not work as well as the fresh variety.

Flake ice has many uses in varying industries. It is useful in restaurant, grocery, and hospital applications. Flake ice cools things quickly and is easy to mold to a given shape, so it invaluable in these particular industries. If you need to make small amounts of flake ice, then Scotsman makes an ice machine that will be ideal to your needs.

The Scotsman F0522A-1 Flake Ice Machine stands just 23 inches high and 22 inches wide, making it small enough to suit smaller restaurants and grocery stores that need ice, but do not have the space for a larger ice

Today, we’re going to take a look at the Omcan Triton 17137 Ice Shaver. This is a powerhouse ice shaver if you’ve got bucket or three of ice that need to be shaved down for your customers. Let’s say that you’re making some of the alcoholic smoothies that we’ve talked about, or you’re just making something similar to a snow cone or snow ball.

With as much volume that this can put out, you can just set this wonderful tool in your workspace and go to town. Got a bucket that you need to push through? This one does 2 liters at a time, a perfect thing for your patrons.

There are knobs available to adjust the thickness of the ice, as well as a nice plastic chute which can keep your ice in check while it’

Passionate bartenders are consistently pushing the envelope with their drink creations. We’re always on the lookout for new bartending trends because ice is the heart of any bartending operation. Yes, even more than the liquor!

There’s a drink called a Puddle Jumper, which includes red wine served over shaved ice. Getting to use the shaved ice machine is always fun. We’ve talked a little about shaved ice and shaved ice recipes in the past. Basically, you can make anything with just a touch of syrup and the willingness to experiment. If you can cook a simple syrup, it's easy to make your own

There are farmer’s markets all over the country, but we believe that the ones who are closer to the coast have it the best. They get fresh fish shipped in any time they want, and many of the catches that are on the flake ice in the evening were swimming in the ocean that morning.

Having an undercounter commercial flake ice machine at a fresh fish market is always a healthy option, especially if it’s a small market. The firepower that a huge machine offers isn’t necessary, but there needs to be enough flake ice power to produce enough ice. Many of the smaller shops will go for ice machines in the 300-500 pound per day production range.

Take a moment to think about all of those people who are chewing ice. They’re on icechewing.com, by the way, and there are recipes for creating the best cup of ice, stories about chewing ice, and places where the ice chewers of the world can unite. Get a crushed ice maker, and you can tap into the thousands of ice connoisseurs that might want to have YOUR ice.

Having a crushed ice maker on the scene of your restaurant has the chance of boosting your profits. Right now, there is a bit of a rush to get residential ice machines that makes crushed ice, or nugget ice, but there are several crushed ice makers that are already on the market for commercial use.

All of the major brands make some form of crushed ice maker, it just depends on the volume that you’re wanting. There is the

What do entrepreneurs do when they’re facing excruciating heat with temperatures rising off the charts? They think of ways that they can capitalize on that to make money for their new business. Kirk Powell figured that a shaved ice shop would be just the thing for the summer.

Opportunity knocks, of course. When you have the ability to serve a town with shaved ice since there’s no Dairy Queen, what better way to do it? “The first few weeks have been awesome. Business has been really good. It’s been better than I expected. I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s such a small town, so you never know. I think people miss Dairy Queen. If Dairy Queen was still around I wouldn’t be doing as wel

Ice does two things for drinks: makes them cold and adds water. Bartenders use different kinds of ice to control these factors. In general, the heavier the ice the faster a drink will get cold and the slower it will melt. Ice types with more surface area and lighter weight will melt faster. Shaking or stirring will speed both up. But it’s more complex than that.

Water type – Impurities in water can affect the taste of ice and the overall drink, so most bars use filtered water. But trapped gases like oxygen can also make ice melt faster and look less appealing. Gourmet ice cubes use special freezing techniques to remove gases so ice is clear and very heavy.

Cubed – Cubed ice is used in drinks served “on the rocks.” Large heavy cubes add just enough water to the drink to release flavor compounds without diluting the drink too much. However, they aren’t good for shaking o